It’s the first question almost everyone asks, and it deserves a straight answer.
No, a unicorn was not X-rayed.
But yes, every EXPOSED piece is produced on real, physical medical imaging film — the same type of specialised material developed for diagnostic medical imaging.
The subject may be imagined, photographed or reinterpreted. The material is real. And that’s the distinction EXPOSED is built around.
What “authentic medical imaging film” actually means
EXPOSED uses genuine dry laser medical imaging film.
This isn’t an X-ray effect printed onto paper, canvas or acrylic.
Medical laser film is a specialised polyester-based imaging material engineered to reproduce detailed grayscale medical images. It has its own imaging layers, density characteristics and translucency.
That matters because it behaves differently from an ordinary print.
Light can pass through it. Dark areas carry physical density. Fine tonal changes become more visible when the film is illuminated from behind.
Move an EXPOSED piece closer to a window or light source and the image changes with its surroundings.
A digital X-ray filter can imitate the visual language on a screen. It can’t imitate the object.
From concept to film
Each EXPOSED artwork begins with a subject chosen for what happens when surface appearance gives way to structure.
An animal. A flower. An object. A symbol. Or an image supplied by you.
The source artwork is developed specifically for the tonal language of medical imaging: structure, transparency, density, internal form and contrast.
Then it is prepared for the characteristics of the film.
How the image gets onto medical film
This is where EXPOSED differs from an ordinary art print.
The final image isn’t applied to the surface with conventional ink or toner.
The medical film is sensitive to infrared laser exposure. Inside a medical laser imager, the prepared image is translated into controlled laser exposure across the film. The exposed imaging layer is then thermally developed inside the machine.
No traditional inkjet printing. No toner. No image printed onto a sheet designed to imitate X-ray film.
The imaging material itself forms the final grayscale image.
That’s why the finished object feels much closer to a diagnostic film than to a conventional photographic print.
The subject can be fictional. The medium isn’t.
A unicorn obviously never entered a radiology department. Neither did many of the other subjects in the EXPOSED archive.
That’s part of the idea.
Medical imaging technology was built to reveal structures the human eye normally couldn’t see. EXPOSED takes that visual language and asks what else we might reveal with it.
What would a mythical object look like beneath its surface? What remains of a flower when its colour disappears? What happens to something familiar when only structure, density and form remain?
The result isn’t presented as a genuine diagnostic X-ray of the subject. It’s artwork produced using an authentic medical imaging medium.
Editioning and numbering
EXPOSED Signature artworks are issued as strictly limited editions.
Each Signature work is limited to 100 pieces worldwide, individually numbered and accompanied by an EXPOSED Certificate of Authenticity.
Once the edition of 100 is complete, that artwork isn’t reissued as another Signature edition.
Seasonal pieces work differently. They are open editions connected to a particular season or moment, but they are produced using the same medical imaging film medium.
Why the process changes how the artwork displays
Because medical imaging film was designed to be viewed with transmitted light, illumination has a major effect on how an EXPOSED piece looks.
Place it against a bright wall and it reads one way. Let daylight enter from behind and finer translucent structures begin to emerge. Illuminate it on a lightbox and the density range becomes more pronounced again.
That’s why how you frame and display an EXPOSED piece can make a genuine difference.
The artwork isn’t simply sitting on the surface waiting for light to bounce off it. Light becomes part of how you see it.
Can I make my own?
Yes.
EXPOSE ME lets you send your own X-ray, CT or MRI export, photograph, artwork or other source image and have it prepared for production on authentic medical imaging film.
Custom projects are priced individually after we review the source image, selected film size and preparation required.
You approve the prepared artwork before final production.
So while we can’t put your unicorn through an X-ray machine, we can put your image through the EXPOSED process.
Browse the current EXPOSED Signature collection or start your own EXPOSE ME project.